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Near-death studies
Near-death studies is a field of psychology and psychiatry that studies the physiology, phenomenology and after-effects of a near-death experience (NDE). Near-death experience The Near-death experience is an experience reported by people who have come close to dying in a medical or non-medical setting. The aspect of trauma, and physical crises, is also recognized as an indicator for the phenomenon.Sommers MS. "The near-death experience following multiple trauma". Crit Care Nurse. 1994 Apr;14(2):62-6. According to sources Griffith, Linda J. Near-Death Experiences and Psychotherapy. Psychiatry (Edgmont). 2009 October; 6(10): 35–42.Greyson B. "Varieties of near-death experience". Psychiatry. 1993 Nov;56(4):390-9. it is estimated that near-death experiences are reported by five percent of the adult American population. According to IANDS,IANDS. "Near-death experiences: Key Facts". Informational Brochure published by the International Association for Near-death Studies. Durham, NC. Updated 7.24.07 surveys (conducted in USA, Australia and Germany) suggest that 4 to 15% of the population have had NDEs. Some researchers try to study the postulated role of physiological, psychological and transcendental factors associated with the NDE.Parnia S, Waller DG, Yeates R, Fenwick P A qualitative and quantitative study of the incidence, features and aetiology of near death experiences in cardiac arrest survivors. Resuscitation. Feb;48(2):149-56, 2001 PubMed abstract PMID 11426476 These factors come together to form an overall pattern when numerous NDE reports are considered together. It is this pattern that is one of the main objects of interest for Near-Death studies. Among the general characteristics of an NDE we find: subjective impressions of being outside the physical body; visions of deceased relatives and religious figures; transcendence of ego and spatiotemporal boundaries.Greyson, Bruce. Near-Death Experiences in a Psychiatric Outpatient Clinic Population. Psychiatric Services, Dec., Vol. 54 No. 12. The American Psychiatric Association, 2003 Similar traits have been mentioned by other researchers,Mauro, James. Bright lights, big mystery. Psychology Today, July 1992Morse M, Conner D, Tyler D. Near-death experiences in a pediatric population. A preliminary report. American Journal of Diseases of Children, Jun;139(6):595-600, 1985van Lommel P, van Wees R, Meyers V, Elfferich I. "Near-Death Experience in Survivors of Cardiac Arrest: A prospective Study in the Netherlands". The Lancet. December 15, 2001 ; 358(9298):2039-45. PMID 11755611 and are also described in an analysis of 613 near-death experiences, gathered by the Near Death Research Foundation.Beck, Melinda. Seeking Proof in Near-Death Claims. The Wall Street Journal (Health Journal), October 25, 2010 NDE researchers have also found that the NDE may not be a uniquely western experience. The core experience seems to be similar across cultures, but the details of the experience (figures, beings, scenery), and the interpretation of the experience, varies between cultures. NDE-Scale According to the The NDE-scale Greyson, Bruce. The near-death experience scale. Construction, reliability, and validity. Journal of Nervous and Mental Disease, Jun;171(6):369-75, 1983Graves, Lee. "Altered States. Scientists analyze the near-death experience". The University of Virginia Magazine, Summer 2007 Feature a near-death-experience includes a few, or several, of the following 16 elements: IANDS - Summary of characteristics Two summaries of characteristics presented by IANDS IANDS. [http://iands.org/images/stories/pdf_downloads/generaliands.pdf Near-Death Experiences: Is this what happens when we die?] Durham: International Association for Near-Death Studies. Informational brochure REV 4/11. Available at www.iands.org. confirm many of the same features, but also introduce features not mentioned by Greyson. After-effects The experience may also involve after-effects. Many of the after-effects are associated with changes in personality and outlook on life, and considered to be beneficial. Cafferky, Monica. "Does this woman really know what happens to us when we die?" The Daily Express, published online Monday March 14, 2011Hopper, Leigh. "Conference to shed light on 'near-death' experiences." The Houston Chronicle, published online October 25, 2006 Possible after-effects are: enhanced purpose in life, appreciation of life, confidence, self-esteem, reduced fear of death, greater spiritualism, and greater ecological sensitivity Kenneth Ring has identified a consistent set of value and belief changes associated with people who have had a Near-death experience. The effects include: greater appreciation of life, higher self-esteem, greater compassion for others, a heightened sense of purpose and self-understanding, desire to learn, elevated spirituality, greater ecological sensitivity and planetary concern, and a feeling of being more intuitive (sometimes psychic). Changes may also include: increased physical sensitivity; diminished tolerance to light, alcohol, and drugs; a feeling that the brain has been "altered" to encompass more; and a feeling that one is now using the "whole brain" rather than just a small part. However, not all after-effects are beneficial. The literature describes circumstances where changes in attitudes and behavior can lead to psychosocial and psychospiritual problems. Orne RM. The meaning of survival: the early aftermath of a near-death experience. Research in Nursing & Health. 1995 Jun;18(3):239-47. PubMed abstract PMID 7754094Greyson, Bruce. The near-death experience as a focus of clinical attention. Journal of Nervous and Mental Disease, May;185(5):327-34, 1997 Often the problems have to do with the adjustment to ordinary life in the wake of the NDE. Another category, so-called distressing, or unpleasant, near-death experiences, has been investigated by Greyson and Bush.Greyson B, Bush NE. "Distressing near-death experiences". Psychiatry. 1992 Feb;55(1):95-110. Research - History and background Individual cases of NDEs in literature have been identified into ancient times. In the 19th century a few efforts moved beyond studying individual cases - one privately done by Mormons and one in Switzerland. Up to 2005, 95% of world cultures have been documented making some mention of NDEs. From 1975 to 2005, some 2500 self reported individuals in the US had been reviewed in retrospective studies of the phenomena with an additional 600 outside the US in the West, and 70 in Asia. Prospective studies, reviewing groups of individuals and then finding who had an NDE after some time and costing more to do, had identified 270 individuals. In all close to 3500 individual cases between 1975 and 2005 had been reviewed in one or another study. And all these studies were carried out by some 55 researchers or teams of researchers. Research on near-death experiences is mainly limited to the disciplines of medicine, psychology and psychiatry. Interest in this field of study was originally spurred by the research of such pioneers as Elisabeth Kübler-Ross (psychiatrist) and Raymond Moody (psychologist and M.D.), but also by autobiographical accounts, such as the books of George Ritchie (psychiatrist).Griffith, Linda J. Near-Death Experiences and Psychotherapy. Psychiatry (Edgmont). 2009 October; 6(10): 35–42.Anderson, Jon. "Shedding light on life at death's door". Chicago Tribune, published online May 13, 2004Slayton, Jeremy. "Death Notice: George Gordon Ritchie Jr dies ". Richmond Times Dispatch, published online Wednesday, October 31, 2007 Kübler-Ross, who was a researcher in the field of Thanatology and a driving force behind the establishment of the Hospice System in the United States, embarked upon the study of near-death experiences in the later part of her career.Noble, Holcomb B. "Elisabeth Kübler-Ross, 78, Dies; Psychiatrist Revolutionized Care of the Terminally Ill." New York Times, August 26, 2004 Raymond Moody, on the other hand, got interested in the subject at the start of his career. In the mid-seventies, while doing his medical residency as a psychiatrist at the University of Virginia, he conducted interviews with Near-Death Experiencers. He later published these findings in the book Life After Life (1976).Moody Raymond A. (1976). Life after life : the investigation of a phenomenon - survival of bodily death. Harrisburg, Pa. : Stackpole Books. In the book Moody outlines the different elements of the NDE. Features that were picked up by later researchers. The book brought a lot of attention to the topic of NDEs, but was also met with a fair amount of scepticism from the scientific community.Brody, Jane E. "Health; Personal Health". New York Times, November 17, 1988. The late seventies also saw the establishment of the Association for the Scientific Study of Near-Death Phenomena, an initial group of academic researchers, including John Audette, Raymond Moody, Bruce Greyson, Kenneth Ring and Michael Sabom, who laid the foundations for the field of Near-death studies, and carried out some of the first post-Moody NDE research.Ring, Kenneth. Religious Wars in the NDE Movement: Some Personal Reflections on Michael Sabom's Light & Death. Journal of Near-Death Studies, 18(4) Summer 2000 The Association was the immediate predecessor of the International Association for Near-death Studies (IANDS), which was founded in 1981. This group of researchers, but especially Ring, was responsible for launching Anabiosis, the first peer-reviewed journal within the field. The journal later became Journal of Near-Death Studies.Griffith, Linda J. Near-Death Experiences and Psychotherapy. Psychiatry (Edgmont). 2009 October; 6(10): 35-42. Bruce Greyson (psychiatrist), Kenneth Ring (psychologist), Michael Sabom (cardiologist) and Melvin Morse (pediatrician) introduced the study of Near-Death experiences to the academic setting, but the subject was often met with academic disbelief,Bush, Nancy Evans. ”Is Ten Years a Life Review?” Journal of Near-Death Studies, 10(1) Fall 1991 or regarded as taboo.Daily Progress Staff. ”UVa hopes to participate in near-death experience”. The Daily Progress, November 30, 2008 The medical community has been somewhat reluctant to address the phenomenon of NDEs, and grant money for research has been scarce. Current research has also experienced scepticism from the medical community, but there are also signs of increased awareness.McIver, Brian." Ex-nurse Dr Penny Sartori studies amazing experiences of people who come back from the dead." The Daily Record, published online 25 Jan 2011 However, both Ring and Sabom made contributions that were influential for the newly established field. Ring published a book in 1980 called Life at Death: A Scientific Investigation of the Near-Death Experience. This professional text was followed by a more popular text in 1984 by the title Heading Toward Omega: In Search of the Meaning of the Near-Death Experience. The early work of Michael Sabom was also bringing attention to the topic within the academic community. Besides contributing material to academic journals,Sabom, M. B. The near-death experience. JAMA 1980 Jul 4;244(1):29-30. he wrote a book called Recollections of Death (1982) Sabom, M. (1982). Recollections of death: A medical investigation. New York, NY: Harper and Row. which is considered to be an influential publication from the early days of research. Another early contribution to the field was the research of British Neuro-psychiatrist Peter Fenwick, who started to collect NDE-stories in the 1980s. In 1987 he presented his findings on a television-program, which resulted in more stories being collected. Mensel, Lars. "I'm no longer afraid of death". Conversation by Lars Mensel with Peter Fenwick. The European, published online 10.03.2013. The responses from Near-death experiencers later served as the basis for a book published in 1997, "The Truth in the light", co-authored with his wife Elizabeth Fenwick.Fenwick, Peter and Fenwick, Elizabeth (1997). The truth in the light: an investigation of over 300 near-death experiences. New York : Berkley Books Co-operating with other researchers, among others Sam Parnia, Fenwick has also published research on the potential relationship between cardiac arrest and Near-death Experiences.Parnia S, Waller DG, Yeates R, Fenwick P A qualitative and quantitative study of the incidence, features and aetiology of near death experiences in cardiac arrest survivors. Resuscitation. Feb;48(2):149-56, 2001 PubMed abstract PMID 11426476Parnia S, Fenwick P. "Near death experiences in cardiac arrest: visions of a dying brain or visions of a new science of consciousness". Resuscitation. 2002 Jan;52(1):5-11Parnia S, Spearpoint K, Fenwick PB. "Near death experiences, cognitive function and psychological outcomes of surviving cardiac arrest.Resuscitation. 2007 Aug;74(2):215-21. As research in the field progressed both Greyson and Ring developed measurement tools that can be used in a clinical setting.Ring, Kenneth. (1980) Life at death. A scientific investigation of the near-death experience. New York: Coward McCann and Geoghenan. Greyson has also addressed different aspects of the NDE, such as the psychodynamics of the experience,Greyson, Bruce. The psychodynamics of near-death experiences. Journal of Nervous and Mental Disease, 1983 Jun;171(6):376-81. the varieties of NDE, the typology of NDE's Greyson B. "A typology of near-death experiences." Am J Psychiatry. 1985 Aug;142(8):967-9. and the biology of NDE's.Greyson B. "Biological aspects of near-death experiences". Perspect Biol Med. 1998 Autumn;42(1):14-32. In addition to this he has brought attention to the near-death experience as a focus of clinical attention, suggesting that the aftermath of the NDE - in some cases - can lead to psychosocial and psychospiritual problems. Morse and colleagues Morse M, Castillo P, Venecia D, Milstein J, Tyler DC. Childhood near-death experiences. American Journal of Diseases of Children, Nov;140(11):1110-4, 1986 have investigated near-death experiences in a pediatric population. They found that children report NDE's that were similar to those described by adults. Morse later published two books, co-authored with Paul Perry, that were aimed at a general audience: Closer to the light: learning from children’s near-death experiences (1990)New York Times Staff. "Best Sellers: November 25, 1990". New York Times, November 25, 1990 and Transformed by the light: the powerful effect of near-death experiences on people’s lives (1992). Research has also entered into other fields of interest, such as the mental health of military veterans. Goza studied NDE's among combat veterans. She found, among other things, that combat soldiers reported different, and less intense near-death experiences, compared to NDErs in the civilian population.UNT (University of North Texas) News. "UNT research produces new findings on combat soldiers' near-death experiences". Published online Monday, July 11, 2011Goza, Tracy H. "Combat Near-Death Experiences: An Exploratory, Mixed-Methods Study". Doctoral Dissertation, University of North Texas, August 2011 Pim van Lommel (cardiologist) was one of the first researchers to bring the study of NDE's into the area of Hospital Medicine. In 1988 he launched a prospective study that spanned 10 Dutch hospitals. 344 survivors of cardiac arrest were included in the study.Williams, Daniel. "At the Hour Of Our Death". TIME Magazine. Friday, Aug. 31, 2007Boseley, Sarah. "Near-death visions baffle doctors." The Guardian, published online Friday 14 December 2001 62 patients (18%) reported NDE. 41 of these patients (12%) described a core experience. The aim of the study was to investigate the cause of the experience, and assess variables connected to frequency, depth, and content. Another large, 30-month study, conducted at University of Virginia Hospital in 2001, involving 1,595 people, found that 10 percent of cardiac-arrest patients reported near-death experiences. The implications of cardiac arrest has also been investigated by other researchers. In a study from 2001 Parnia and colleagues found that 11.1% of 63 cardiac-arrest survivors reported memories of their unconscious period. Several of these memories included NDE-features. In 2008 the University of Southampton announced the start of a new research-project named The AWARE (AWAreness during REsuscitation) study. The study was to be co-ordinated by the University of Southampton, but included collaboration with 25 medical centres within the UK, mainland Europe and North America. The object of the study was to study the brain, and consciousness, during cardiac arrest, and to test the validity of out of body experiences and reported claims of lucidity (the ability to see and hear) during cardiac arrest.Daily Progress Staff. ”UVa hopes to participate in near-death experience”. The Daily Progress, November 30, 2008University of Southampton Press Release. "World’s largest-ever study of near-death experiences". 10 September 2008. Ref: 08/165Stephey, M.J. "What Happens When We Die?". TIME Magazine, Thursday, Sep. 18, 2008 The project is still in progress, and release date for the results is still not decided.AWARE Study Update April 2011. Published online at http://www.horizonresearch.org/ Recently, the work of Jeffrey Long has also attracted attention to the topic of NDE's in both the academic, and the popular field.Beck, Melinda. Seeking Proof in Near-Death Claims. The Wall Street Journal (Health Journal), October 25, 2010MacDonald, G. Jeffrey. "Scientists probe brief brushes with the afterlife". The Christian Century, Jan 12, 2011New York Times Staff. "Best Sellers: Nonfiction: Sunday, February 7th 2010". New York Times, February 7, 2010 In 2010 he released a book, co-authored with Paul Perry, called Evidence of the Afterlife: The Science of Near-Death Experiences. In this book Long presented results from research of more than 1,300 near-death experiences from around the world.McKnight Laura. "Houma oncologist gains national attention with book on near-death experiences". Published on The Houma Courier online edition Houma Today, Sunday, February 14, 2010McKnight, Laura. "Houma doctor hits bestseller list with book on near-death experiences". Published on The Houma Courier online edition Houma Today, Friday, February 5, 2010Schuessler, Jennifer. "Inside the List ". New York Times (Sunday Book Review), Published online, January 29, 2010 In 2009 Praeger Publishers published the The handbook of near-death experiences: thirty years of investigation, a comprehensive critical review of the research carried out within the field of Near-death Studies.Holden, Jan. M. "UNT Faculty Member Dr. Janice Minor Holden Publishes The Handbook of Near-Death Experiences: Thirty Years of Investigation". University of North Texas Counseling Program News, Vol. 1, Issue 2, Summer/Fall 2010 Psychometrics – Measuring the NDE Several psychometric instruments have been adapted to near-death research. Ring developed the Weighted Core Experience Index in order to measure the depth of NDE's, and this instrument has been used by other researchers for this purpose.Lester, David. "Depth of Near-Death Experiences and Confounding Factors". Perceptual and Motor Skills, 2003,96, 18. The instrument has also been used to measure the impact of near-death experiences on dialysis patients.Lai et.al. Impact of near-death experiences on dialysis patients: a multicenter collaborative study. Am J Kidney Dis. 2007 Jul;50(1):124-32, 132.e1-2. According to some commentators the index has improved consistency in the field. However, Greyson notes that although the index is a pioneering effort, it is not based on statistical analysis, and has not been tested for internal coherence or reliability. Ring also developed an instrument called the Life Changes Inventory (LCI) in 1984, in order to quantify value changes following an NDE. The instrument was later revised and standardized, and a new version, the LCI-R, was published in 2004.Greyson, Bruce; Ring, Kenneth. " The Life Changes Inventory - Revised." Journal of Near-Death Studies, Vol 23(1), 2004, 41-54. Greyson developed The Near-Death Experience Scale. This 16-item Scale was found to have high internal consistency, split-half reliability, and test-retest reliability and was correlated with Ring's Weighted Core Experience Index. Questions formulated by the scale address such dimensions as: cognition (feelings of accelerated thought, or "life-review"), affect (feelings of peace and joy), paranormal experience (feelings of being outside of the body, or a perception of future events) and transcendence (experience of encountering deceased relatives, or experiencing an unearthly realm). A score of 7 or higher out of a possible 32 was used as the standard criterion for a near-death experience. The scale is, according to the author, clinically useful in differentiating NDEs from organic brain syndromes and nonspecific stress responses. The NDE-scale was later found to fit the Rasch rating scale model.Lange R, Greyson B, Houran J. A Rasch scaling validation of a 'core' near-death experience. British Journal of Psychology. Volume: 95 Part: 2 Page: 161-177, 2004 The instrument has been used to measure NDE's among cardiac arrest survivors,Parnia S, Waller DG,Yeates R, Fenwick P A qualitative and quantitative study of the incidence, features and aetiology of near death experiences in cardiac arrest survivors. Resuscitation. Feb;48(2):149-56, 2001 PubMed abstract PMID 11426476 coma survivors,Thonnard M, Charland-Verville V, Brédart S, Dehon H, Ledoux D, Laureys S, Vanhaudenhuyse A. Characteristics of near-death experiences memories as compared to real and imagined events memories.PLoS One. 2013;8(3):e57620. Mar 27. out-of-hospital cardiac arrest patients/survivors,Klemenc-Ketis Z. Life changes in patients after out-of-hospital cardiac arrest : the effect of near-death experiences.Int J Behav Med. 2013 Mar;20(1):7-12.Klemenc-Ketis Z, Kersnik J, Grmec S. The effect of carbon dioxide on near-death experiences in out-of-hospital cardiac arrest survivors: a prospective observational study. Crit Care. 2010;14(2):R56.Martens PR. Near-death-experiences in out-of-hospital cardiac arrest survivors. Meaningful phenomena or just fantasy of death? Resuscitation. 1994 Mar;27(2):171-5. substance misusers,Corazza O, Schifano F. Near-death states reported in a sample of 50 misusers.Subst Use Misuse. 2010 May;45(6):916-24. and dialysis patients.Lai et.al. Impact of near-death experiences on dialysis patients: a multicenter collaborative study. Am J Kidney Dis. 2007 Jul;50(1):124-32, 132.e1-2. In the late 1980s Thornburg developed the Near-Death Phenomena Knowledge and Attitudes Questionnaire.Walker, Barbara & Russell, Robert D. Assessing psychologists' knowledge and attitudes toward near-death phenomena. Journal of Near-Death Studies, Vol. 8, Number 2, 103-110 The questionnaire consists of 23 true/false/undecided response items assessing knowledge, 23 Likert scale items assessing general attitudes toward near-death phenomena and 20 Likert scale items assessing attitude toward caring for a client who has had an NDE. Barnett, Linda. Hospice Nurses' Knowledge and Attitudes Toward the Near-Death Experience. Journal of Near-Death Studies, 9(4), Summer 1991 Knowledge and attitude portions of the instrument were tested for internal consistency. Content validity was established by using a panel of experts selected from nursing, sociology, and psychology. The instrument has been used to measure attitudes toward, and knowledge of, near-death experiences in a college population,Ketzenberger, Kay E. & Keim, Gina L. The Near-Death Experience: Knowledge and Attitudes of College Students. Journal of Near-Death Studies,Volume 19, Number 4, 227-232 among clergy,Bechtel, Lori J.; Chen, Alex; Pierce, Richard A.; Walker, Barbara A. Assessment of clergy knowledge and attitudes toward near-death experiences. Journal of Near-Death Studies, Vol 10(3), 1992, 161-170. among registered psychologists, and among hospice nurses. Greyson has also used mainstream psychological measurements in his research, for example The Dissociative Experiences Scale;Greyson, B. Dissociation in people who have near-death experiences: out of their bodies or out of their minds? Lancet. Feb 5;355(9202):460-3, 2000 a measure of dissociative symptoms, and The Threat Index;Greyson, Bruce. Reduced death threat in near-death experiencers. Death Studies, Vol. 16, Issue 6, 1992. a measure of the threat implied by one's personal death. Research Organizations and Academic locations The field of near-death studies includes several communities that study the phenomenology of NDE's. The largest of these communities is IANDS, an international organization based in Durham, North-Carolina, that encourages scientific research and education on the physical, psychological, social, and spiritual nature and ramifications of near-death experiences. Among its publications we find the peer-reviewed Journal of Near-Death Studies, and the quarterly newsletter Vital Signs.IANDS. [http://iands.org/images/stories/pdf_downloads/generaliands.pdf Near-Death Experiences: Is this what happens when we die?] Durham: International Association for Near-Death Studies. Informational brochure REV 4/11. Available at www.iands.org.[http://www.iands.org/publications/vital-signs.html IANDS: Vital Signs]. Accessed 2011-02-06. The organization also maintains an archive of near-death case histories for research and study.IANDS: NDE Archives. Accessed 2011-02-06. Another research-organization, the Louisiana-based Near Death Experience Research Foundation, was established by radiation oncologist Jeffrey Long in 1998.MacDonald, G. Jeffrey. "Scientists probe brief brushes with the afterlife". The Christian Century, Jan 12, 2011Adler, Jerry. "Back From the Dead". Newsweek, July 23, 2007 The foundation maintains a web-site, also launched in 1998, and a database of more than 1.600 cases, which is currently the worlds largest collection of Near-death reports. The reports come directly from sources all across the world.MacDonald, G. Jeffrey. "Scientists probe brief brushes with the afterlife". The Christian Century, Jan 12, 2011McKnight Laura. "Houma oncologist gains national attention with book on near-death experiences". Published on The Houma Courier online edition Houma Today, Sunday, February 14, 2010 A few academic locations have been associated with the activities of the field of Near-death Studies. Among these we find the University of Connecticut (US),New York Times Staff. "Near-Death Experiences Illuminate Dying Itself". New York Times, October 28, 1986 Southampton University (UK),University of Southampton Press Release. "World’s largest-ever study of near-death experiences". 10 September 2008. Ref: 08/165 University Of North Texas (US) and the Division of Perceptual Studies at the University of Virginia (US). Conferences IANDS holds conferences, at regular intervals, on the topic of Near-Death Experiences. The first meeting was a medical seminar at Yale University, New Haven (CT) in 1982. This was followed by the first clinical conference in Pembroke Pines (FL), and the first research conference in Farmington (CT) in 1984. Since then conferences have been held in major U.S. cities, almost annually."IANDS Fact Sheet, As of December, 2010''. Accessed 2012-02-09. Many of the conferences have addressed a specific topic, defined in advance of the meeting. In 2004 participants gathered in Evanston (IL) under the headline: "Creativity from the light". A few of the conferences have been arranged at academic locations. In 2001 researchers and participants gathered at Seattle Pacific University. Forgrave, Reid. "A glimpse of the 'other side': Seattle conference unites near-death individuals". The Seattle Times, published online Friday, July 27, 2001 In 2006 the University of Texas MD Anderson Cancer Center became the first medical institution to host the annual IANDS conference. Hopper, Leigh. "Conference to shed light on 'near-death' experiences". The Houston Chronicle, published online October 25, 2006 The first International Medical Conference on Near-Death Experiences was held in 2006. Approximately 1.500 delegates, including people who claim to have had NDEs, were attending the one-day conference in Martigues, France. Among the researchers attending the conference were anaesthetist and intensive care doctor Jean-Jacques Charbonnier, and pioneering researcher Raymond Moody.Cosmos Magazine Staff. " Near-death experiences go under the French microscope". Cosmos Magazine, Sunday, 18 June 2006. Cosmos Media Pty Ltd ''Journal of Near-Death Studies'' IANDS also publishes the quarterly Journal of Near-Death Studies, the only scholarly journal in the field. The Journal is cross-disciplinary, is committed to an unbiased exploration of the NDE and related phenomena, and welcomes different theoretical perspectives and interpretations that are based on scientific criteria, such as empirical observation and research.[http://www.iands.org/publications/journal-of-near-death-studies.html IANDS Journal of Near-Death Studies]. Accessed 2011-02-06. Criticism and Sceptical views Criticism of the field of Near-death studies has come from commentators within its own ranks. In an open letter to the NDE-community Ring has pointed to the "issue of possible religious bias in Near-death studies". According to Ring the field of Near-death studies, as well as the larger NDE-movement, has attracted a variety of religious and spiritual affiliations, from a number of traditions, which makes ideological claims on behalf of NDE-research. In his view this has compromised the integrity of research and discussion.Ring, Kenneth. Religious Wars in the NDE Movement: Some Personal Reflections on Michael Sabom's Light & Death. Journal of Near-Death Studies, 18(4) Summer 2000 Also, the findings of NDE-research has been contested by several writers in the fields of Psychology and Neuroscience. Neuroscientist Susan Blackmore Beck, Melinda. Seeking Proof in Near-Death Claims. The Wall Street Journal (Health Journal), October 25, 2010 has contested the findings of NDE-research, and has instead argued in favour of a neurological explanation. Psychologist Christoper French has also expressed sceptical views, implying that the NDE "could just be the brain trying to make sense of what is a very unusual event".Petre, Jonathan. Soul-searching doctors find life after death. The Telegraph, published online 22 Oct 2000 Commentators point out that it is very difficult to verify that there was in fact no measurable brain activity in a NDE case. There are many types of brain activity and they require different types of tests to verify them. Most of these types of tests are not typically performed when a patient is undergoing attempts at emergency resuscitation. It is entirely possible, for example, that a patient showing no activity on an EEG scan could still have brain activity that would appear on an FMRI, PET, or catSCAN. In the words of Dr. Mark Cohen, a neuroimaging researcher at UCLA: "The EEG can appear flat even in the presence of high activity, when that activity is not synchronous. For example, the EEG flattens in regions involved in direct task processing. This phenomenon is known as event-related desynchronization."Sam, Harris. " In addition, NDE could just as easily have occurred before or after any state resembling brain death. There is no way to verify the timing of memory formation relative to brain scans when the patient is not conscious.Mobbs D, Watt C.. There is nothing paranormal about near-death experiences: how neuroscience can explain seeing bright lights, meeting the dead, or being convinced you are one of them. Trends Cogn Sci. 2011 Oct;15(10):447-9. The experiences reported by NDE subjects have also been reported by other patients whose experiences had known triggers (mostly chemicals of a psychedelic nature.) The chemical processes that happen in a brain under oxygen deprivation are known to share some characteristics with the effects of psychoactive substances. See also * Death studies * Near-death experience * Transpersonal psychology References Further reading * Greyson, Bruce (1983) The near-death experience scale. Construction, reliability, and validity. Journal of Nervous and Mental Disease, Jun;171(6):369-75. * Greyson, Bruce (1997) The near-death experience as a focus of clinical attention. Journal of Nervous and Mental Disease, May;185(5):327-34. * Greyson, Bruce (2003) Near-Death Experiences in a Psychiatric Outpatient Clinic Population. Psychiatric Services, Dec., Vol. 54 No. 12. The American Psychiatric Association * IANDS. IANDS: The International Association for Near-Death Studies. Printable Brochure. Available at www.iands.org * Lange R, Greyson B, Houran J. (2004) A Rasch scaling validation of a 'core' near-death experience. British Journal of Psychology. Volume: 95 Part: 2 Page: 161-177 * Lukoff, David, Lu, Francis G. & Turner, Robert P. (1998) From Spiritual Emergency to Spiritual Problem - The Transpersonal Roots of the New DSM-IV Category. Journal of Humanistic Psychology, 38(2), 21-50, 1998 * Mauro, James (1992) Bright lights, big mystery. Psychology Today, July 1992 * Morse M, Conner D, Tyler D. (1985) Near-death experiences in a pediatric population. A preliminary report. American Journal of Diseases of Children, Jun;139(6):595-600. * Morse M, Castillo P, Venecia D, Milstein J, Tyler DC. (1986) Childhood near-death experiences. American Journal of Diseases of Children, Nov;140(11):1110-4. * Peake A, "Cheating The Ferryman - A New Paradigm of Existence?". Journal of Near Death Studies, Vol.23 No 2 (2004) * Ring K. (1980) Life at death. A scientific investigation of the near-death experience. New York: Coward McCann and Geoghenan. External links * Allen Press - Journal of Near-Death Studies *The International Association for Near-Death Studies, Inc *University of Virginia Health System - Division of Personality Studies Category:Death Category:Transpersonal psychology